Give ’em a Brake

Michigan road crew memorialized at Clare Welcome Center

When I first saw the sculpture I thought someone at the Michigan Department of Transportation had a warped sense of humor.

In this state, construction barrels and road crews are a year ’round fixture and generally considered an impediment to motoring enjoyment and progress. So it was a bold move, I felt, to greet visitors to the Michigan Welcome Center on US-127 near Clare with
a work of art depicting highway workers, the bane of many a driver’s existence.

Then I learned that the sprawling (it measures about 15’x60′) interpretation of a road construction crew is actually a tribute to highway workers who have lost their lives on the job. The memorial was conceived and paid for by MDOT employees and retirees, and created by artist Carl Floyd using metal salvaged from highway jobs. It was installed in 1994.

In Michigan, penalties for injuring or killing a worker or any other person in a construction work zone are stiff: fines of up to $7,500 and 15 years in jail.

So as you head out on the highways and byways, be prepared to slow down in construction zones: those folks are just doing their jobs. And, when that stimulus money makes its way here from Washington, there are only going to be more of them. Let’s keep it that way.

Michigan Welcome Centers

The state operates 14 Welcome Centers.

In addition to the restrooms, picnic areas and vending machines you’ll also find at dozens of roadside rest areas across the state, these 14 centers are staffed by knowledgeable travel consultants and stocked with free brochures, maps, information and displays.